CAPILLARY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHIC DETERMINATION OF CAPTAFOL IN VEGETABLES, FRUITS, AND GRAINS

Captafol is a fungicide that has been used because of its low acute mammalian toxicity. Recently it was found that the pesticide causes several kinds of cancer. To control the levels in foods, it is necessary to establish a reliable, efficient, and sensitive method for monitoring captafol in domestic and imported products consumed in Japan. The method presented describes the determination of captafol in citrus fruits, vegetables, soybeans, and wheat. The captafol is extracted with acetonitrile or acetone, and, if necessary, partitioned with hexane. The residual pesticide is purified by Florisil column chromatography and by optional charcoal column chromatography. The eluate is concentrated and injected into a gas chromatograph equipped with a fused silica capillary column and an electron capture detector. Recoveries of captafol from market samples fortified at levels of 0.005 and 0.01 ppm ranged from 64 to 88%.